I START this piece by clarifying that my commentary is not meant in any way to speak to Guyana-China relations or to in any way disparage or invite odium or ill will towards Chinese Supermarkets (CS) or any other business owned by Chinese. There are indeed some positive effects of these supermarkets which, I am sure, Guyanese appreciate. The adverse effects are also numerous, insidious, severe and stiffening. My essential argument is that, for these reasons, it should attract higher regulatory scrutiny.
Since my last column on this very subject, at his invitation, I met with a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Guyana (CHG). He said he wanted to clarify certain misconceptions in my last article. The following paraphrases what was said, without comment or qualification.
The CHG does not have the staff or resources to assist Chinese-owned businesses with business research and placement suggestions. The CHG does not have independent or up-to-date factual information on the market conditions in Guyanese communities, nor does it have an accurate database of nationals of China conducting business in Guyana. The CHG official insisted that there is no programme to help private Chinese citizens with capital to invest overseas. Whenever the CHG is given a forum to address Chinese who do business in Guyana, they are adamant that the proprietors should obey all local laws and that the CHG will not take any steps to shield them if they break local laws.
The Belt and Road Initiative is not about world dominance but about respectful partnership between friendly governments. The CHG official also said that the Chinese government does not have such close ties or control over private businesses of Chinese citizens to be able to influence their commercial behaviour. As a result, it is impossible to punish businesses in Guyana for views adverse to China or Chinese policies. Consequently, my “far-fetched” doomsday scenario about the possibility of a food bug in Guyana was particularly hurtful and misrepresents the character of the Chinese government and the Chinese people. China is a true friend of the Government and people of Guyana.
I am not sure the CHG official specifically wanted me to make the discussion public, but I think I have an obligation to readers to share the gist of that encounter. I have no issues exposing alternative views to anything I write. I tried to present the sentiments of the CHG official as clearly and accurately as I could.
That said, there are two issues to which I wish to add my comments and clarification. First, my comment about LeBron James was inaccurate; the NBA player who issued the apology was James Harden, who at the time was a member of the Houston Rockets (HRs). The HRs manager made comments adverse to the Chinese government and in support of a Hong Kong protest. As a result, the HRs faced potential cancellation of all future tours, cessation of massive sponsorships and other forms of collaboration with Chinese businesses. LeBron James’ role in the matter was to criticise the HRs for being selfish by making insensitive statements knowing it could have far-reaching commercial repercussions. My second comment is to reiterate that using any objective academic matrix, together with all the research at my disposal, I firmly believe the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative is grounded in the concept of world trade and investment dominance.
Proliferation of CSs have killed off the corner-shop culture in Guyana; this cannot be simply ignored as an effect of the free-market system. It is essentially big foreign money crowding out the business model of the poor. It is not a case where other shops grew and displaced their competitors. CSs disproportionately affect the poor and working class who depend on those corner shops to subsidise family income. Big supermarket chains such as Bounty and Massey can compete because these entities have solid capital backing from super-rich outfits. The poor families running those grocery shops have no alternative but to close their doors. Was there any national study on the impact of this? No activity that disproportionately affects poor people should go unstudied, unregulated or unscrutinised. You do not need an economics professor to explain this.
Some pertinent comments and questions in the ‘spit press’ include questions about obedience to NIS laws, treatment of employees, participation in Chambers of Commerce, support for community activities such as sponsorship of culture and sports events, etc.
I have several suggestions to benefit the small local grocer. The government should either restructure the Guyana Marketing Corporation or create a new organisation to act as a local-government sponsored franchisor, allowing Guyanese to face lower setup, marketing and branding costs. The franchisor provides certain physical, branding and hold-over stocking facilities. This is not a new concept; this country is not without knowledgebase and track record. GUYOIL is a highly successful government-owned franchisor. This may be the only way actual community people can compete within the CSs swarm. Community grocers can easily convert to full-fledged supermarkets if that kind of franchising opportunities existed.
There should be calm persuasion and entreaty of the Chinese Association and their members with existing CSs to transition towards retail of hardware, intermediary and capital goods, especially for small manufacturing, farming and construction. That is what Guyana needs most from Chinese citizens. There are lots of investment opportunities in Guyana that Chinese citizens can take up that are almost frontier businesses that will not cause mass displacement of ordinary people. Guyana needs more investments in agro-processing, food packaging, small manufacturing and other forms of value-added production that complement retail businesses. These types of investments could be exploited to the mutual benefit of China and Guyana. Commercial regulations should be designed to prompt and facilitate this transition. Leave this form of pure grocery “buy and sell” to people from right within their communities; they should be protected from ruthless capitalistic plunder from superpower-aligned investments.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.